Steamboats on the Red River 1871-1879

Steaming into Fort Garry in April 1871, the Selkirk stirred the competitive spirit of the Hudson Bay Company which immediately put the International back into full-time freight service. The competition was short-lived. In the spring of 1872, Hill ostensibly sold his steamboat to the Hudson Bay Company. In reality, Hill and the Company formed the Red River Transportation Line and placed both the International and the Selkirk under the management of "Commodore" Norman Kittson. In the winter of 1871-1872, Kittson built the third steamboat on the Red River: the Dakota. The Alpha and the Cheyenne followed in 1874. With five steamboats and twenty barges, Kittson controlled Red River transportation. He quickly raised freight and passenger rates.

In 1875, Kittson finally realized competition when businessmen from Winnipeg, St. Paul, and Moorhead built the Manitoba and the Minnesota, the largest boats on the river at the time. The boats were built in Moorhead under the management of James Douglas, Moorhead postmaster and merchant.

In 1871, the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived in Moorhead, Minnesota. The railroad provided a quicker and more economical way of shipping goods from St. Paul to the Red River. This made steamboat traffic on the Red River attractive again. In 1871, James J. Hill and some partners built the Selkirk in McCauleyville, MN (about 30 miles south of Moorhead). The steam boat was named after Selkirk, a community on the Red River 23 miles north of Winnipeg). Both H.W. Holmes and a Mr. Griggs have been reported as Captain.

The new steamboat line was called the Merchants International Line. It is reported that the Manitoba arrived in Winnipeg in May 1875 with 102 cabin passengers and 181 deck passengers. In addition, it carried 365 tons of freight. First class passenger fare (cabin and meals) was $24 in 1875. Once again competition was short-lived as the two new boats were soon sold to the Red River Transportation Line.

The steamboats ran from April to October each year. The river was impassable because of ice the other months. The average trip from Moorhead to Winnipeg and back took 10 days. The International made the fastest recorded round trip at 5 days and 18 hours. Two crewmen were lost overboard on that trip. Wages were $35-$40 per month for the crew.

In 1879, James J. Hill's St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (later to become part of the Great Northern) reached St. Vincent, MN. The town was served from the north by the Canadian Pacific. At last a rail line ran from St. Paul to Fort Garry (Winnipeg) and the eight year revival of the riverboat began to decline.The Hudson Bay Company finally had real competition for freight hauling in the Red River Valley. In 1887, the Northern Pacific also had a line reaching north to Fort Garry.

For information about the Moorhead steamboat landing, please continue here.

Selkirk

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